Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the November 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.46. 2,430,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,722,684. The stock has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.42. Agilent Technologies has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on A. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.